


OUAT, episode 10: ''The Darkness Within''

by Omorocca



Series: Once Upon a Time [9]
Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-03-24
Updated: 2013-03-24
Packaged: 2017-12-06 09:37:20
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,378
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/734211
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Omorocca/pseuds/Omorocca
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>As the episodes f the show go on, I have witnessed some inconsistencies in the several plotlines being told. Is it that so many characters are being shown, they need to cut some stories? Is it because the main showdown is taking too much screentime? I don't know. I'm still trying to be faithful to the real show AND to my fic - remember some of my episodes happened before we knew what would happen to those characters - and I'm trying to fill one of these holes: Belle's mistreatment at the hospital. I made a paralel to how Rumple was treated in a deleted scene of season 1 (unbeknownst to the Charmings) and with two of my own episodes, filling the blanks. I'm rather proud of the final product.</p><p>I'm going to wait for ''Lacey'' to air before I write any more, hoping it doesn't destroy too much what I've worked so hard on. ''The Outsider'' had already made my Belle backstory obsolete, I won't make the same mistake twice.</p><p>This episode happens on one day, between the end of ''Tiny'' and before Rumple's return in ''The Miller's daughter''. The show makes it last less than two days, and I tried to respect that.</p>
            </blockquote>





	OUAT, episode 10: ''The Darkness Within''

Fanfiction

Characters © OUAT writers and producers

Mother Gothel and Rapunzel © Grimm

Rebecca, Dominic and original characters are mine

 

 

Storybrooke, Maine

 

The sun hadn’t even risen when the nurse entered the hospital. The security guard let her in with a yawn and went back to his station, while the woman walked to hers. A discreet hand on her belly, where her son was slowly growing, nurse Toren pulled the file of a patient, signed on a specific line and slowly walked to the patient’s room.

 

In his office, the security guard had fallen back to sleep. Had he stayed awake a little while longer, Sleepy would have seen nurse Toren enter room 23 and leave with a man in a wheelchair.

 

Rapunzel led Blue Beard to the exit and pointed him towards a specific location, not knowing they were being watched. The sick man got up his wheelchair and he and the witch’s daughter parted on cold but civil terms. After that, Rapunzel got back inside the hospital, to her station, and looked for another file, close to her heart.

 

With Dr Whale still at home at this hour, she could finally know how they were handling the case of her friend’s true love.

 

But the file wasn’t there.

 

“Sneaky bastard!”

 

With a sly smile, she walked to Dr Whale’s office, thinking of picking the lock with a spell and retrieving the file, but on her way there, she saw a nurse go towards the patients’ rooms. A nurse she recognised.

 

‘What is she doing here?’ she asked herself.

 

Curious, she followed her and saw her enter… Belle’s room. With growing concern and anger, she burst in, catching the nurse before she could do anything to the sleeping patient.

 

“What the hell are you doing here?”

“I was about to ask you the very same thing, the nurse sternly answered. Dr Whale made it clear you are not to interact with this patient until she has recovered from her memory loss. Your presence will only agitate her more.”

“And he lets you treat her? After all that you’ve done?”

“That was before, Miss Toren. Now that the curse is broken, he may allow anybody to _pretend_ to be medical personnel, but on this case, it would be better for a real nurse to—”

“Excuse me?... If anything, I am more of a nurse than you will ever be. You got your knowledge from a curse; I took the exams to be here.”

 

The nurse didn’t answer. Rapunzel smiled and went on.

 

“Do you know what repetitive sedating does to a person’s brain? Physically speaking, that is. Because I do. It’s not just her mind you’re destroying; you’re turning her into a vegetable. And I’m not even talking about what you’re doing to her on a psychological level. I will not allow it.”

“Really? And what are you going to do? Put a spell on her? That doesn’t seem to have worked very well last time.”

“Not on her… on you!”

“What?”

 

The nurse rose up, uncertain of what Rapunzel meant. Neither of them realised the patient was slowly waking up and hearing – though not understanding – what they were arguing about.

 

“If you hurt me, you could lose your job, Miss Toren.”

“Who said anything about hurting you?... no, my magic is protective, not invasive. I won’t use it to harm you, but there are other means of getting rid of nuisances. And that wouldn’t be the first time I bend the rules to help someone I care about. I suggest you leave Belle alone if you don’t want to know how far I’m prepared to go.”

“Is that a threat?”

 

Belle kept her eyes half shut and listened closely. Rapunzel held the woman’s stare and answered with the utmost sincerity.

 

“Of course, it is.”

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

Prince Charming’s castle

 

They were all in the room with the round table. Prince ‘Charming’, his wife Snow White and their friends who served as councillors, were discussing ways to protect themselves from the Queen’s curse. They had already tried so many different options and were about to lose all hope. The curse would happen, no matter what they tried.

 

“What else haven’t we thought of yet?” the prince asked.

“We have sent people to warn every kingdom we could reach, Grumpy answered. They’re making arrangements, but it’s hard to prepare for this.”

“Some of them were a bit angry with us, Red added. They claimed this war between us and the Queen shouldn’t involve them.”

“Yeah, it was to be expected, Charming said. When this curse breaks, some people are bound to blame us as well as Regina.”

“I say, let them try, the Dwarf said. You’re also the parents of the Saviour who will break the curse.”

“If what Rumpelstiltskin said is true”, Red corrected.

 

Snow White, who had kept silent this whole time, finally answered, as a guard entered the room.

 

“I believe he spoke the truth… hello?”

“Sorry for interrupting, Your Highness. I came as soon as I heard.”

“What is it?”

“It’s the imp. Someone went to visit him.”

“What?” Charming stood up and went to the man. “He was supposed to be kept away from any visitor. How did this happen?”

“The prison guards won’t say. They barely admitted someone was there only because I asked them. I heard from the visitors themselves. They were pretty upset after they got out of the mines.”

“Upset after talking with Rumpelstiltskin, nothing new there”, Grumpy intervened.

“It’s not that, sir. They were upset about how we were treating him. They spoke of the guards feeding him bugs and dirt and spoiled water.”

“What?” The prince and his wife looked at each other. “We were there a few days ago and saw nothing of it. Of course, it’s not a guest room in the palace, but he was being treated with a minimum of decency.”

“I went there to look on my own, the guard answered. I saw all that Prince Wilfried and his wife talked about. My guess is the guards cleaned up before you came in, that night.”

“Maybe… Prince Wilfried, you said? I don’t know that name.”

“He’s the son of King Gabriel, Snow said. The Fisher King. Lancelot told us about him, remember?”

“I do. It’s the man who’s cursed with that Grail, isn’t it?”

 

She nodded with a little sigh. The prince turned to the guard.

 

“I’m going to regret this, but Rumpelstiltskin is technically a prisoner of war. That gives him certain rights and I want you to order the guards to respect those rights. Otherwise, they’ll have to answer to me.”

“Very well, Your Highness.”

 

The guard left and everyone looked at each other with worry.

 

“He’s told us about our daughter, Charming justified. At least for that, he deserves some respect.”

“It is very commendable, Jiminy Cricket commented with a little flap of his wings. You can truly judge the quality of a man by how he treats his enemies.”

“I’m not worried about my quality. The Fisher King is cursed. If his son is friends with Rumpelstiltskin, I don’t want him to turn his kingdom against ours simply because some guards were mistreating him behind our backs. We can’t have that on top of everything else coming at us.”

“That could be worse, Snow warned them. I heard Prince Wilfried’s wife is the daughter of a witch. What if he made a deal with her? If the guards went too far for his taste, he could have asked her to help him escape.”

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

Storybrooke, Maine

 

The little bell rang when Rapunzel entered the diner, and with a sigh, she sat at one of the tables, took off her nurse cap and asked Granny for a cup of tea. The old woman went to get it, while her granddaughter, Ruby walked to the table.

 

“Everything okay there?”

“Not really”, Rapunzel answered, massaging her belly.

“Trouble at the hospital?”

“Funny you should ask! I heard you visited the victim yesterday morning.”

 

Worried, the waitress sat in front of the nurse.

 

“Is Belle okay?”

“Would you be if the person who’s supposed to be your best friend treated you like you were crazy, instead of telling you the truth?”

 

Ruby sighed. Rapunzel shrugged. Outside of her family – cursed extended family included – Ruby was Belle’s only friend and she had allowed this pain to happen to her.

 

“Look, I had no choice. Did you talk to Dr Whale?”

“Not yet. He’s meeting me here.”

“It’s all about this new guy. Mr Mendell. In case he overhears or something, we need to look as normal as possible so he doesn’t suspect this town is different… Look, I’m as lost as you are, here. I just did what he asked me to do. I wish I could help her differently, but I don’t know how.”

“You can help her by helping me. When Dr Whale comes in, I’ll ask him to handle Belle differently and he would listen to me a lot more if you stand by my side. Because you’re Belle’s friend but also because I think he likes you and wants to do right by you after you helped him.”

“What do you propose?”

 

But before Rapunzel could answer, the door of the diner reopened and the doctor entered.

 

 

 

“Look, Miss Toren, I know you don’t exactly approve of this nurse being around Belle, but I assure you she is doing her very best to help—”

“She’s keeping her heavily sedated all the time, Rapunzel interrupted. You know the repercussions this could have on Belle’s brain.”

“I do… as I recall, I was a doctor before the curse.”

“Then, why are you letting this happen?” Ruby refilled Rapunzel’s tea while asking. “You know how Mr Gold will react when he finds out you’ve turned Belle into a vegetable. Did you think about that?”

“Yes, he answered. And I also thought about what he said the night she lost her memories. That if Mr Mendell sees or hears anything weird, he’ll drive tour buses in Storybrooke and have us treated like monsters. Belle doesn’t remember anyone, she doesn’t know with whom she can talk and with whom she can’t. We can’t risk her talking to him and ask him questions that will only cause more trouble.”

“Then, keep him in his room, Ruby suggested. Keep them away from each other.”

“If we’re supposed to look like a normal hospital, we can’t keep him locked up. He needs to walk around and see that everything is exactly like in the outside world. We just have to play the game until Gold returns and then figure out what to do.”

 

Rapunzel got up, ready to leave.

 

“Not good enough, she said. I want you to keep this nurse away from her, effective immediately. I want you to stop sedating her and I want you to figure a humane way to treat her amnesia without us having to call her crazy every time she asks a question.”

“That will take some time.”

“You have until the end of my shift today. If by five o’clock tonight, nothing has changed, I resign.”

“You can’t be serious.”

“I am.”

“What about all the patients who need magic?”

“I guess they will have to rely on your science, then.”

 

She was about to leave when she realised she hadn’t paid for her lunch. She had a glance at Ruby.

 

“The good doctor can pick up my bill.”

 

 

 

Outside the diner, Ruby caught up with her and stopped her. Not knowing they were being watched, the waitress asked the nurse a question, already suspecting what the answer would be.

 

“If you leave, there won’t be anyone to keep an eye on Belle. Or on this nurse. What are you going to do if he can’t find a way to make you stay?”

 

The witch’s daughter looked at the werewolf with a glance that only a few selected enemies had ever witnessed.

 

“Then I’ll break her out of there.”

 

Ruby’s eyes widened.

 

“No.”

“I’m serious, Ruby. I’ve done it before. I’m breaking her out.”

 

Ruby held her stare and her eyes seemed to glimmer with malice.

 

“No… We are.”

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 

_A few months earlier_

 

Dr Whale had gotten out of the hospital room to talk to Gold, Emma following him. In the room, the poor Miss French was being assisted by Rebecca Toren and her boyfriend.

 

“Well, we’ll keep her here for now, until the drugs are all flushed out of her system. I’ll call Dr Hopper to see if I can get him to do an evaluation of her and—”

 

He paused; behind them, Regina had come in with two orderlies. Emma looked at the mayor with anger.

 

“Regina… what are you doing here?”

“I think you know. Miss French was taken from the psych ward and I am here to make sure she goes back where she belongs.”

“Based on what grounds?” asked Gold about to jump at her jugular.

“Past psych evaluations that clearly demanded it”, she answered as an orderly handed the files to Dr Whale.

“Let’s not make a scene in front of the patients, Dr Whale asked. Please, let’s go to my office.”

 

He led the way. After a long moment of staring at each other, Regina and Gold followed. Emma took a look through the glass door at Elizabeth, Rebecca and Dominic, before following, not without noticing that Rebecca had witnessed the whole thing.

 

Indeed she had and she was ready to intervene. A whisper in Dominic’s ear and he was ready as well. When the orderlies entered, they met with a very angry volunteer who began asking them questions so they would not to notice the blind man behind them. The moment they answered, he located them with their voices and his cane knocked them out with the precision of a sword.

 

“All right, let’s get her out of here!”

“W- what?” the poor woman asked.

“You’re not safe here anymore, sweetheart”, Dominic answered.

“We’ll take you someplace safe, I promise”, Rebecca added while taking her cell phone. “Hello, Dean?... It’s Rebecca. Can you come by the hospital right now… by exit 4, with your van?... now. Thanks!”

 

They both helped a disoriented Miss French sit in a wheelchair and pushed her out of the room. In the corridor, Rebecca turned her phone back on.

 

“Who are you calling?” Dominic asked.

“Our alibi… Hello, is this District Attorney Spencer’s office? May I speak with Mr Spencer?... Toren, Rebecca Toren.”

 

They wheeled their patient into the elevator and Rebecca took the stairs, so the connection wouldn’t break. This way, she would be able to speak to the man who would later swear she was on the phone with him this whole time.

 

“What… what is she doing?”

“I don’t know, Miss French, Dominic answered. I think she’s pulling a page out of Mr Gold’s book on how to use people.”

 

Ding!

 

The door reopened and Rebecca was waiting for them, while still on the phone. Dominic’s hand found its way to the wheelchair and he slowly pushed Elizabeth out.

 

“— I know that. I’m only wondering about the legal aspect of locking someone up in these cells, while the psychiatric ward could easily take care of—… These rooms aren’t even legal yet. Their construction happened without the landowner’s consent, and the approval is needed by the contract the hospital made with Mr Gold. Their existence alone destroys the legitimacy of Mayor Mills’ request.”

 

Dominic resisted the urge to laugh and he and Rebecca wheeled the chair to a blue van parked by. Inside, Rebecca’s friend Dean – Gavin in another life – helped the woman climb and sit in the back. Dominic sat with her as Rebecca finished her call.

 

“Would you be willing to testify to that, Mr Spencer? Because I know my ex-husband and he will fight Mayor Mills in court over this. He could even close the hospital in retaliation… Of course, he can. He has the legal right and all the desire in the world… All right, then I’ll call you back.”

 

She hung up with a smile.

 

“What did he say?” Dean asked.

“It doesn’t matter. I don’t think he’ll try to help us. But the conversation is recorded. I now have proof that I was too busy to help Elizabeth escape.”

“Ha! Good one. So where are we headed?”

“Take her to Granny’s and get her a nice room. Mr Gold will pay you back. And don’t leave her alone. Regina is capable of anything when it comes to hurt the people Mr Gold cares about.”

“We will guard her with our lives, My Lady” Dean answered with a wink.

 

He got back in his seat; Dominic kissed his girlfriend, sat back on the back of the van, and closed the door with a laugh.

 

“I was right and wrong. She did pull a page out of Gold’s book. But it’s his book on how to piss people off.”

 

Dean laughed and drove them off to take the new member of their family to safety.

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

Prince Charming’s castle

 

The guard let the man inside the room where the prince awaited him, a letter in his hand.

 

“Prince James, I presume?”

“That’s how I am known to the outside world, Charming answered with a frown. I received a letter from King Gabriel mentioning your visit, Lord Gavin.”

“Lord?... He called me Lord?” Gavin laughed. “I’m nothing of the sort, Your Highness. I’m just the captain of Princess Rapunzel’s personal guard, and her friend. That’s the second title that brings me here. She and Prince Wilfried were pretty shocked by the actions of your men.”

“As were we… my wife and I. We had no idea this was happening. We gave orders to have this situation fixed the moment we heard about it.”

“That’s what Prince Wilfried’s letter said. What made you react so fast?”

 

Charming didn’t answer right away. The man had come as a favour for his friend, the princess, who was herself an acquaintance of the Dark One. He could lie to him to prevent Rapunzel from casting a spell on them… but the captain seemed an honest and decent man who deserved the truth.

 

“I was tempted to say that there’s this curse coming to destroy all the kingdoms of this world, keeping us alarmed and that we need every asset we can have to protect ourselves, he answered. Of course, that would have been true, but it’s not all of it. Rumpelstiltskin warned us that our child would one day break the curse and we could need his help again before the curse is cast… However, the truth is that we learned that your princess is the daughter of a witch and we feared she owed him a favour.”

“And that he would collect by asking her to get him out”, Gavin guessed.

“Something like that, yes. This blood feud between us and Regina – the queen who will cast the curse – has led to this curse and some kingdoms are willing to blame us as well as her for its existence. When it breaks, some people will hold us responsible and follow anyone who chooses to fight us. We just can’t add an angry imp using a favour a witch owes him to all this.”

“Well, you need not worry, Your Highness. Rapunzel doesn’t owe anything to Rumpelstiltskin. That would actually be the other way around. He killed her mother. And now that she’s a mother herself, Rapunzel wanted him to promise her son would be safe when the curse comes.”

“Oh, I see.”

“If we reacted that way to how he’s being treated, it’s only due to the guards’ horrible behaviour.”

“That is very understandable. I was horrified myself. This is not the way to treat a prisoner, no matter who this prisoner is.”

 

Gavin smiled in relief.

 

“I had heard a rumour you were like your father, King George. I must say I am very glad this rumour was wrong.”

“There’s more to that story, _Lord_ Gavin.” Both men shared a laugh. “But I try real hard to be nothing like him.”

“I’m glad you are.”

“That aside, I’m relieved the Rumpelstiltskin matter is clarified. We did fear your princess would try to break him out.”

“Oh, no! Well, not yet, that is. For my part – and don’t repeat this to Rapunzel or her husband – I’m happy that this beast is locked up.”

“Really?”

“Rapunzel’s mother, Lady Gothel, is the best thing that happened to my family. By adopting my birth sister, she gave her a life we never could, surrounded her with love and even accepted me as part of their lives, when my own parents died. When the imp killed her, he broke both Rapunzel’s heart and mine.”

 

Charming scoffed, shocked by the revelation.

 

“What’s going on?” Gavin asked.

“I’m just amazed that someone who took your sibling as their own child ever cared for you, the child who wasn’t theirs. Not everyone gets this chance to bond with a second family.”

“Would that have anything to do with the fact King George went to war against you and you ended up winning his kingdom?”

“Something like that. You are really well informed.”

“Working for a paranoid witch made me extra careful of everyone I deal with, from crazy imps to heroic princes.”

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Storybrooke, Maine

_Present day_

 

Ruby had finished her shift and was going to head for the hospital, when a man stopped her by standing in her way.

 

“Excuse me.” She tried to walk away from him, but he stopped her again.

“Wait a minute, please. You’re going to see Belle at the hospital, right?”

“How do you know that?”

“And you and Rebecca Toren are going to try to get her out.”

“Who—who told you this?” She looked around to make sure no one was hearing them. “Did you speak to… to nurse Toren?”

“I overheard you two talking earlier. I want to help.”

“Do I know you?”

“My name is Jefferson… let’s just say I owe one to ‘Miss Toren’ and I’m trying to pay it back. Also, I wouldn’t mind helping the woman my old buddy loves.”

“Your…?”

“Yup. Contrary to popular belief, Rapunzel is not the only friend Rumpelstiltskin has in this town.”

 

 

_A few months earlier_

 

Covered by a coat and a scarf over his face, Jefferson walked out of the woods to the little house and did a round to verify something. The front door was still locked, so was the back door and all the windows.

 

“Perfect”, he said, pulling a little remote control out of his pocket. This thing had cost him a fortune. It had better work.

 

He pressed the button. Inside, the two packages he had previously hidden in the cupboards caught on fire. A few minutes later, the whole ground floor was in flames.

 

Hiding in view of the back of the house, he began to worry. The family wasn’t out yet. He was about to run inside to help, when he saw the window of the top floor bedroom open and Dominic use his hands to find his way outside.

 

“It’s okay, Your Highness, Jefferson muttered. You’ve done it before.”

 

He saw him reach the ground and help Gold’s love do the same. He also saw Rebecca Toren climb down and the gutter break. Once more, he thought of running to help, but the woman got back up and the trio cut through the woods to get away from the inferno.

 

“That wasn’t supposed to happen…”

 

He felt guilty now. No one was supposed to get hurt. The girl was Rapunzel, she should have escaped without a problem.

 

_Well, no, her prince is the one who climbed up and down the tower, idiot! If Rumpelstiltskin finds out, you better pray he kills you quickly._

 

After he had decided he would find a way to make it up to them, Jefferson remained in the woods until Emma and Mr Gold came in. He saw them enter the house, and then exit as the firemen were coming. A minute after, what he had been waiting for happened when Mr Gold jumped on Regina and strangled her. He had bought that she was behind this and would make her pay.

 

The Mad Hatter smiled. Of course, Regina was keeping an eye on the house, so she would be a good suspect for having shown on the scene so quickly. And the more she would deny it, the more it would make Rumpelstiltskin want to kill her.

 

When Emma made Mr Gold let go of the mayor, Jefferson walked back home. He was a bit disappointed, but he knew that it was now a matter of time before the imp made the queen pay. And the Mad Hatter would get his own revenge in the process.

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

Storybrooke, Maine

_Present day_

 

Once at the hospital, Ruby found Rapunzel at the nurses’ station and quickly signed her to come and talk.

 

“I just had the most interesting talk”, she said.

 

As she was retelling her conversation with Jefferson, someone passed by them unseen and turned in a corridor to visit one of the patients.

 

Greg Mendell looked at his feet, pretending to have a simple walk to stretch his legs and waited for the personnel to look somewhere else to enter Belle’s room.

 

“You again? What… what do you want, this time?”

“I had a question about something I witnessed and I thought maybe you knew something about it.”

“If it’s about this magic thing, I… I don’t want to talk about this again.”

“Look, I understand, you’re scared. But it seems we are the only ones to wonder what’s going on in here. Everybody else acts like they don’t see it, like it doesn’t even exist. And they’re trying to make us believe we didn’t see anything.”

“I know… this nurse keeps coming to my room to sedate me every time I ask a question about what I saw. And today, a woman came to my room and wanted to ask me about something I’m supposed to know about a Mr Gold and…”

“And she knocked you out with a spell. I saw it.”

“You… you did?”

“She did the same to the person guarding your room, he explained. She just raised her hand and he fell unconscious. Actually, I managed to film what she did next.”

 

He sat on her bed and showed her the video he had recorded on his cell phone. She sat there, staring in a mix of awe and fear.

 

“You see? We have proof now that you’re not crazy. And neither am I.”

“Actually, Mr Mendell, said a voice at the door, you are very crazy if you think you can pull this kind of stunt and get away with it.”

 

They both looked up to see Rapunzel staring at them. Greg Mendell startled and grabbed a fork off the food tray, but Belle stopped him.

 

“It’s okay… she’s a friend… I think.”

“I’m a friend of yours, Belle, but not of him. Especially if he’s doing what I think he’s doing.”

 

Greg tried to hide his cell phone, but with a flip of her hand, Rapunzel made it fly to her. She looked at the video and back at him.

 

“What do you think you’re doing, Mr Mendell?”

“What are you going to do? Kill me?”

“I don’t kill people, but others might if they hear you know this town isn’t particularly what it seems. Not every witch is bad, but if they fear for their safety, they will all try to silence you.”

“ _I’m_ a threat to _you_?”

“Imagine what would happen if you were to tell a friend or a relative that you found a town where people can do magic. Providing they are gullible enough to buy this or if you send them this kind of video, they would probably call the news and we would end up with reporters everywhere. How long would it take before one of us gets attacked by someone from the outside world out of fear of something they don’t understand?”

“We’re not all like that.”

“No?... can you promise me no one will go nuts when they see someone turn into a wolf during a full moon? Can you promise me no one will try to steal or blackmail a fairy for some magic dust? Can you promise me witches will not be chased by an angry mob? I made a little research on the Internet—yeah, we have that here. The connexion is crappy, must be the curse, but I saw what this world does to witches. My mother almost went through this in our world. I will not submit my family to this risk.”

“Oh, come on. This is the twenty first century. We don’t do that anymore.”

“Are you certain?... I read an article about a woman who was suspected of witchcraft. _Suspected_ , she might have been innocent. She was tortured and burned alive by many citizens of her town and her own husband was at the head of this angry mob. This happened this year, in the twenty first century.”

 

The man was horrified and Belle was suddenly afraid for her life. If the nurse and this man were to fight…

 

“I- I didn’t know…”

“She was a mother, Rapunzel concluded in tears. So am I… and I’m a witch, a real one. I don’t want this to happen to me or my family.”

 

It was the first time Rapunzel ever admitted she was a witch, and not the daughter of a witch. And she was admitting it to a complete stranger.

 

“That’s why we tried so much to keep this from you. We’re afraid. Your world doesn’t know how to handle us. We’re… well, _fairy tales_ to you. No one must know.”

“So now what?... Now that I know.”

“So far, only Belle and I know you know. Let us keep it this way. Have you spoken of this to anyone?”

 

Greg thought before answering, but he shook his head.

 

“Good. Let me figure out how to delete this.” She deleted the video and handed back the phone with a smile. “Here. Now, as of right now, you don’t know anything about anything weird in this town. You promise to never speak of this and in return, we will not spill your secret to people who could be less understanding than us. I also promise to keep you safe from anything, as long as you keep quiet.”

“What if I slip and tell someone.”

“Then I won’t protect you when they come looking for you”, she answered with a teasing smile. He smiled back. “Then I guess it’s a deal, Mr Mendell.”

“It is, Miss…?”

“Toren. Rebecca Toren.”

“Why do I feel that’s not your real name?”

“That’s my name in this world. That should suffice for our interactions.”

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

Prince Charming’s castle

 

In her room, Snow White was getting ready to go to bed when a bird came to her. A bird that didn’t belong to her. On the bird’s paw, a little golden ring with a piece of parchment tied to it.

 

“ _Hold me in your hand_ ” the parchment said.

 

Snow White looked around her and even went out on the balcony to check the surroundings. No one. She sat on her bed and looked at the ring again. What if it was a ruse? Something from Regina to harm her or the baby?

 

Nonsense. Rumpelstiltskin had warned them about the dark curse that would destroy everything. The curse would not be necessary if there was a poisoned ring that would only harm her and the baby. He had also put a spell on her so that Regina couldn’t use magic against her… but did this repel poison as well?

 

With a deep breath, she took the ring and held it in her hand.

 

“You took your time, a voice said behind her. Were you afraid I would harm you?”

 

She turned to see someone sitting on her bed. The woman had very long hair and a glowing amulet around her neck and she appeared to be more of a magically induced hallucination than an actual visitor.

 

“Who are you?”

“The witch’s daughter you were so worried about, she answered with a smile. My name is Rapunzel. It’s nice to meet you, in spite of the circumstances.”

“Likewise. Charming has said very good things about your friend Gavin.”

“Charming?”

“Sorry… that’s the name I gave my husband.”

“Well, he has earned it, Rapunzel answered with a smile. Gavin was very happy with how things went. He also told us your kingdom has made enemies because of this curse.”

“That’s right.”

“Well, I wanted to reassure you our kingdom is on your side in this. King Gabriel apparently dislikes King George very much and would ally with anyone who has been attacked by him. You can count on his support, should you need it.”

“Thank you, Snow answered with relief. That’s very kind of you.”

 

Rapunzel paused and looked at Snow’s belly. The baby in it would be born in a matter of days now.

 

“Gavin also told me your child would be the one to break the curse, which is the real reason for my visit. You see, the curse will take my son from me and your daughter will make our reunion possible. Therefore, I feel the need to help you keep her safe.”

“How?”

“This ring in your hand… I cast a protection spell on it. My mother was an expert on this kind of magic. Wear it hidden on you until the child is born and she will be protected from anything this curse throws at her. Anything magical, that is, until she breaks the curse and everyone is saved.”

 

Snow looked at the little ring with gratitude, but also with worry.

 

“All magic has a price… what’s yours?”

“Knowing that your daughter will make my family whole again. That’s all I really need.”

“Thank you very much!”

“You need not thank me. I’m doing this for my child as well. I don’t know what the curse has in store for us, but knowing your child will be there to restore our lives has made it easier for me to handle.”

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Storybrooke, Maine

 

The door of the elevator opened, revealing the sheriff – or the sheriff’s father, to be more precise – headed for Dr Whale’s office. He seemed in a hurry, but stopped by the nurses’ station for a few minutes.

 

“Nurse Toren?” The nurse in question turned around. “Or maybe you prefer Princess Rapunzel?”

“Not… Princess… Rapunzel’s fine.”

 

The man had a kind smile.

 

“We haven’t been properly introduced, but some time ago, I have met your brother, Gavin?”

“I know you; you are Snow White’s husband… ‘Charming’?”

“That’s the name she gave me… it seems more and more people call me that now. I’m here because your husband called me… about Belle.”

“Really? What… what did he tell you?”

 

Charming leaned in closer to make sure no one else heard his answer.

 

“He told me that if Dr Whale doesn’t deal with the situation properly, you will and he will gladly help… I understand he’s a volunteer paramedic now, so he has access to the hospital and the stunt you both apparently pulled last time could happen again.” The nurse began to look slightly panicked. “Now, don’t worry. I’m not here about what you _might_ do. I called Whale on my way and he’s agreed to get this nurse away from Belle and we are going to discuss about other changes we can make to improve her situation. He has an idea about how to keep Mr Mendell away, so Belle won’t have to worry about what she says to him.”

 

Rapunzel paused and had a sigh of relief.

 

“Thank you”, she gratefully said.

“Don’t thank me. Twice, we entrusted someone’s surveillance to someone else and on both times you and your husband were the ones who warned us of what was really going on.”

“You had so much to deal with; you had no choice but to leave some of the work to someone else. Then, it was the curse, now it’s the Giant business, Hook’s escape and God knows what else… This hospital is supposed to be safe. You couldn’t possibly know it wasn’t.”

“Still… it seems every time we trust someone else to anything regarding Rumpelstiltskin, things go wrong and we end up feeling stupid. We’ll fix this, I promise.”

“Thank you very much.”

“Some time ago, you gave Snow a protection spell, for Emma?” The nurse nodded. “Consider this an act of gratitude.”

 

He smiled and went on his way to go deal with the doctor. Rapunzel sat down, her hand on her belly, relieved that things would be fixed; relieved that she wouldn’t have to make Belle escape, again. She was also comforted that she wouldn’t have to resign in protest.

 

She grabbed the station’s phone and made a quick call.

 

“Hello, Ruby?... yes… I just spoke to Charm—uh Mr Nolan? Emma’s father… yes… He says he’ll make Whale fix this.”

 

Another nurse came in at that moment.

 

“I have a patient looking for Rapunzel?”

“That would be me… Ruby? I have to go. Why don’t you come see Belle tomorrow? We’ll talk then… can you call ‘our friend’ to warn him to stay put, just in case? Okay, thanks!”

 

She hung up and followed the nurse to the room where the patient waited. A patient requesting her personally? Who could that possibly be? Blue Beard again? He didn’t need her anymore, she had sent him off on Hook’s trail.

 

The nurse showed her to the room and left. Rapunzel entered, her amulet slightly glowing, ready to fight whoever was behind the curtain.

 

Sitting on the hospital bed, looking strangely at all the machines around her, the woman raised her head in hearing the nurse enter.

 

“Gothel’s daughter. It is so lovely to see a familiar face.”

 

Rapunzel startled and almost fainted. In her purple dress and garb, the dark fairy – or what was left of her – looked like she had come back from the dead.

 

“M… Maleficent?”


End file.
